Wei Wei

Opinion | Some of China’s best cultural ambassadors are foreign vloggers

Travellers taking advantage of China’s visa-free transit policies can help the international community get a balanced view of the country

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Wei Wei

Published: 5:30am, 20 Aug 2024Updated: 6:56am, 20 Aug 2024

I never expected that foreigners could become the strongest “spokespeople” for China. On YouTube, I’ve come across video headlines such as “CHINA is NOT what we expected”, “I Was Wrong About China...So I Came Back” and “The Media Doesn’t Want You To See THIS in China” made by foreign vloggers - some of whom have many followers.

A China travel rush is under way, thanks in part to China rolling out a visa-free 24-hour transit policy for people from other countries around the world at all of its accessible exit-entry ports. Forty-one such ports - encompassing 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities - have implemented a 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free transit period for foreign nationals from 54 countries.

According to data released by the National Immigration Administration, more than 14.6 million foreigners entered China in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 152.7 per cent. Among them, 8.5 million people entered China without a visa, accounting for 52 per cent - a year-on-year increase of 190.1 per cent. With the support of the visa-free transit policy, it is more convenient for foreign tourists to explore China.

Foreign vloggers have made videos about their experiences in China and posted them on social media. They are amazed by China’s high-speed trains, skyscrapers, mobile payment systems, electric cars, mega airports, delicious and varied food, friendly people, unique culture and history and how people can walk at night without fearing being attacked.

I was impressed that a couple from Britain and Italy, on their YouTube channel, said that people in China completely blew them away because they “never expected anyone could be so lovely, so friendly, so helpful, so welcoming and so patient”, and “so nice”. It was the first time I had seen someone put so many kind adjectives together to describe Chinese people.

In a video posted to Douyin, a father from Britain said he took his son to see a dentist in China. He was shocked by how efficient and affordable it was to go to the hospital. He said the whole process, from the professional consultation and X-ray to his son getting the filling, took just a few hours and cost them 287 yuan (US$40).

A police officer helps an American tourist fill out an entry registration card at Beijing Capital International Airport, on July 10. Photo: Xinhua